2/21/12 Rangers vs. Pittsburgh Penguins

Knibb High Football Rules!

Rangers against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Rangers and Penguins meet for the fourth time this season, the second time in Pittsburgh. The Rangers have taken two out of the three previous meetings, while the Penguins took the most recent one on Jan. 19 to the score of 4-1. The Rangers are coming off of a quick OT game against Columbus two nights ago where the Jackets tied it up late, but Derek Stepan managed to tuck one in 22 seconds into the overtime period to win the game. The Rangers played a fairly solid game for the most part against the Jackets, held the puck for most of the game, and seemed to control the tempo. But a late-game gaffe when Rick Nash sniped one over the shoulder of Henrik Lundqvist sent the game to OT. The Rangers are playing very well as of recently. They have won five out of their last six games, and Henrik Lundqvist has been absolutely stellar when called upon. Players are stepping up and scoring, and the team seems to be just as cohesive as they have been all season. But tonight, they face a very amped up Pittsburgh team.

Despite not having Sidney Crosby for so long, the Pens have dug into their bag of tricks and have pulled out a team that has been able to hang with the rest of the division. James Neal and Evgeni Malkin have combined for most of the Penguins goals, and have lead the team through troubled times. Despite the lack of Crosby, the Penguins are just as dangerous.



The Diagnosis


These two teams are no strangers to each other. Each team goes hard as hell every time they lace up to face one another, and tonight will be no different. Tonight though, I feel like Pittsburgh is the more desperate team. They are 5-4-1 in their last 10, and are looking for a ump to get them ahead of the Devils and Flyers, who they are right next to in the standings. I have a feeling the Pens are going to come out fired up tonight and could potentially walk away with a victory.

The Prediction


Penguins win 3-2

Evgeni Malkin will score early on in the game to give the Pens the lead.
Marian Gaborik will tie the game at one also in the 1st.
Chris Kunitz will score to give the Pens the lead in the 2nd.
James Neal will give the Pens their third goal coming in the 3rd.
And the last goal will be scored late by Brandon Dubinsky also in the 3rd.

Enjoy the game!